Republicans target Trump's crypto empire with new plan, Dems say it falls short

Senate Republicans want to rein in President Donald Trump’s income explosion since returning to the White House, but Democrats aren’t sold on how they’re going to do it.

The Senate is on the cusp of moving landmark cryptocurrency legislation known as the Clarity Act that, if passed, proponents say would finally fold the novel currency into the nation’s web of financial regulations.

Tucked away in the over 600-page package are a slate of ethics provisions that target Trump, the vice president and their spouses. The White House signed off on the provisions, and the architects of the bill say that the restrictions reach beyond just Trump and target lawmakers, too.

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The Senate advanced a massive, Trump-backed housing package geared toward lowering the costs of homes and supercharging the housing supply. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pitched it as legislation to prevent America from becoming a "nation of renters." (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Protect Borrowers ; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

But for now, it’s not enough for Senate Democrats.

"Someone can call it an ethics provision," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said. "But if it doesn't stop the president from profiting off of crypto, and using it as a way to take bribes right out in public. Then it's not really any expedition.

The list of guardrails included preventing federal officials from creating their own digital currency for profit, promoting or endorsing crypto, creating a divestiture or blind trust requirement one year after enactment, allowing officials to own crypto and a disclosure of crypto sales.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who has led the effort on the Clarity Act, told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that the idea isn’t to "plan legislation around one person who holds one office for the next two years, but rather, over time, that will serve the House, the Senate, the judiciary, and the executive branch in a fair way."

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"The struggle is, of course, a lot of Democrats are absolutely focused on one person, and that's President Trump," Lummis said. "So since President Trump actually agreed that he would have the choice to either put his assets in a blind trust, or divest of his participation in digital assets and companies that derive revenue from digital assets, somehow, that's not enough."

There are other gripes with the package, but the ethics provisions are proving a sharp red line. That’s because Trump’s income between 2024 and 2025 erupted by about 250% — from just over $620 million to about $2.2 billion.

And much of that increase is attributed to his various holdings and ventures in crypto, which are run by his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, according to the president’s financial disclosure forms reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Trump’s income shot up by $1.4 billion during his first year in office thanks to earnings from the $TRUMP memecoin, World Liberty Financial token sales and Stablecoin Holdco, among others.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who alongside Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., worked with the White House to draft the ethics provisions, said that the "behavior" that was being targeted was issuance, promotion, and sponsorship of crypto.

"Again, a very different standard than Nancy Pelosi was held to," Moreno said.

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Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump U.S. look on as President Donald Trump and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announce a US-EU trade deal after a meeting at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 27, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. U.S. President Donald Trump is visiting his Trump Turnberry golf course, as well as Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, during a brief visit to Scotland from July 25 to 29. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

When asked about Democrats already raising issues with the provisions, Moreno told Fox News Digital, "They're always obsessed with putting things into the base bill, just offer an amendment."

"That’s the way this place was built, you know, let's put the base bill out there," he said. "The ethics piece is this much of the bill — Tiny bit — just offer an amendment."

Democrats have noted that the ethics provisions don’t specifically target his sons, meaning that the Trump family crypto empire, which has heavily benefited from his name and time in office, would be left largely unchecked.

They also put sole enforcement power into the hands of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a close ally of Trump’s, and are set to sunset on Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump will have left office.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital that he still has "a lot of ethics concerns, and there’s still work to do."

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"This is the partisan draft. It's very obviously not going anywhere," Booker said. "If there's only one pathway to do this it’s doing [it in] a bipartisan manner. There are enough of us on both sides of the aisle that we should be able to land this. It's good faith negotiations."

The objections to the bill, for now, appear to be slowing its roll through the Senate as the upper chamber sprints to a monthlong break in August, and deals with a shrinking window of opportunity to finish legislation before the year is out.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had hoped to get the Clarity Act on the floor next week, but acknowledged that might not be possible.

"I don’t think we’ll be able to get it done, but I would like to at least get Clarity started," he said.